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May 13, 2013

Financial Engines to Include IRAs on Income+ Offering

‘Demand for conflict-free advice and management’ drove new offering, company says

Financial Engines, which claims to be America's largest independent RIA, announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its services to include management of individual retirement accounts (IRAs). IRA management includes access to Financial Engines’ retirement income feature, Income+. The company is now managing IRA assets for 401(k) participants from select plan sponsors.

The company reports that over all, 70 plan sponsors have signed contracts for Income+ as of March 31, representing $126 billion in assets and 1.4 million participants.

“Americans entering retirement today, especially those with modest assets, are on their own to manage unprecedented complexity and uncertainty,” Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Financial Engines, said in a statement. “There is an urgent need for unbiased help and management that puts together all retirement accounts and sources of income to make the most of what people have saved. By offering IRA management, we are another step closer to this vision.”

Financial Engines has extended Income+ methodology to IRAs so that “retirees looking to generate income from an IRA can receive steady monthly payouts based on their household’s changing needs.”

It also makes management and Income+ portable for participants who want continued help if they decide to roll out of their 401(k) plan or take a pension lump sum distribution.

The company notes that “independence is more important than ever.” It cites a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that’s highly critical of 401(k) rollover practices. The GAO found that participants are subjected to pervasive marketing of IRAs, in many cases from their plan service provider steering participants toward the purchase of their own retail products and services. Financial Engines notes it doesn’t sell investments and is free from the product conflicts or the perception of conflicts of interest that can arise for firms that sell products.